Vehicle interiors provide drivers and passengers with information, functionality, and, preferably, comfort. Information such as speed, engine temperature, gas level, oil level and/or pressure, engine or other component functional state (e.g., windshield washer fluid level, operational status of lights such as brake lights, etc.) can be provided through a variety of gauges, readouts, etc. The interiors also provide functional features such as turn signal indicators, a horn, a heater, an air condition, audio components, lights, storage areas (e.g., a console and/or a glove compartment), etc. Further, the interiors provide comfort through soft, adjustable seats, tinted windows, etc. The interiors are preferably ergonomically designed to make operating the vehicle, including actuating and using the functional components, both uncomplicated and physically easy.
Different vehicle interiors are provided for different applications. For example, luxury vehicle interiors are typically provided with more amenities than those of pickup trucks. Specialty functions, such as a winch, can be operated from the interior of specific vehicles, such as a tow truck.
Police vehicles represent a particular class of vehicles that have features not typically found in other vehicles. For example, in recent years, police cars have been frequently equipped with computer equipment to facilitate database searching, e.g., of license plates of cars to check on the background of the owner of a vehicle that has been stopped, to check the criminal record of the expected driver or possible passengers of the stopped vehicle, etc. The computer equipment is typically mounted to a bracket attached to the dashboard of the police car. The bracket may be movable so that the computer can be adjusted according to the preferences of the user. Also, a speaker is typically mounted to the driver's seat on the driver's right side. Such vehicle interiors have many safety/health issues because, e.g., they have many sharp edges and corners, impede egress of the driver through the passenger door, present many items that can be tossed about causing injury to the driver, even for minor accidents such as fender benders (that constitute approximately 85% of all police-involved vehicular accidents), and induce hearing problems in many officers (approximately 75% of officers in one police department had hearing problems in their right ears).